The art of not knowing

Two short video's of two great minds to start with:

Richard Feynman: The Uncertainty Of Knowledge
YouTube&feature=related

Carl Sagan: The Fine Art of Not Knowing
YouTube

Originally posted by souverein
Two short video's of two great minds to start with:

Richard Feynman: The Uncertainty Of Knowledge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkhBcLk_8f0&feature=related

Carl Sagan: The Fine Art of Not Knowing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nQDNNYyjJ4

Have you heard of those devoted monks who live in the mountains amongst the wilderness and the birds of the forest and with that fresh mountain air....its wonderful

But there are some monks that take the vow of silence, and words for them have not been spoken for many many years.

They do not speak for they do not have knowledge, for to have knowledge and keep it secret is selfish and also foolish.

So why do people respect these mysterious monks.

Because people (the masses) do not know what to do, or what not to do, and they think that the great silence is respectable.

Respectable for what.

Who does it help?

Is their silence healing the world or destroying ignorance.....no.

Do not be fooled into thinking silence is respectable unless that the person being silent is a fool.

Originally posted by vishvahetu
Have you heard of those devoted monks who live in the mountains amongst the wilderness and the birds of the forest and with that fresh mountain air....its wonderful

But there are some monks that take the vow of silence, and words for them have not been spoken for many many years.

They do not speak for they do not have knowledge, for to have knowledg ...[text shortened]... ot be fooled into thinking silence is respectable unless that the person being silent is a fool.

What I wanted to express is that the acknowledgement of unanswerable existential questions don't have to lead to an escape towards a religion.

Your reaction reflects the controversy between Mahayana and Hinayana, which is an interesting but different topic.

Originally posted by souverein
Two short video's of two great minds to start with:

Richard Feynman: The Uncertainty Of Knowledge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkhBcLk_8f0&feature=related

Carl Sagan: The Fine Art of Not Knowing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nQDNNYyjJ4

I know, that I do not know---Socrates

Originally posted by vishvahetu
Have you heard of those devoted monks who live in the mountains amongst the wilderness and the birds of the forest and with that fresh mountain air....its wonderful

But there are some monks that take the vow of silence, and words for them have not been spoken for many many years.

They do not speak for they do not have knowledge, for to have knowledg ...[text shortened]... ot be fooled into thinking silence is respectable unless that the person being silent is a fool.

I wouldn't mind a little foolish silence right about now.

Silence may not destroy ignorance, but it can certainly keep from perpetuating it.

Originally posted by souverein
What I wanted to express is that the acknowledgement of unanswerable existential questions don't have to lead to an escape towards a religion.

Your reaction reflects the controversy between Mahayana and Hinayana, which is an interesting but different topic.

If you have a run of bad luck, and find that you have a wallet full of counterfeit money, you do not think that real money is non existent.

The world is bombarded with false religion and false teachings, but their is real religion, which is eternal and coming to us from the beginning of the creation of the cosmos.

Real religion does not come to us of recent times (2000 yrs ago).....How could it? because real religion is eternal because God is eternal, and so are the living beings.

Real religion gives us knowledge that we have no memory of, because we have been in this material world for so long, taking repeated births, that we have forgotten everything of our real spiritual home.

Vedanta by Vyasadeva, is that real religion, and to reject it on whim would leave you with nothing except speculations from the bewildered mind.

Many person like to speculate about spirituality, because to do so, the can invent teachings that allow them to kill and be cruel to animals without guilt, or they invent a man whose blood takes away sins for all people without them living with purity, and gives them a free ticket to heaven.

Or people speculate and teach that this world just popped into existence after a big explosion and there is no Supreme Author.

The bonafide Vedanta teachings by Vyasadeva the literary incarnation of God, presents true knowledge and without it one is left with fabrication.

So there are no unanswerable existential questions now.

Originally posted by Doward
I know, that I do not know---Socrates

Interesting because......the beginning of spiritual life starts with the realization that one does not know, and that they suffer repeatedly.

Originally posted by vishvahetu
Interesting because......the beginning of spiritual life starts with the realization that one does not know, and that they suffer repeatedly.

I can recommend you to read more about Socrates and Socratic ignorance.
Socrates was a master in stimulating his students by putting forwards question after question in stead of lecturing them or calling them ignorant or dishonest....

Originally posted by souverein
I can recommend you to read more about Socrates and Socratic ignorance.
Socrates was a master in stimulating his students by putting forwards question after question in stead of lecturing them or calling them ignorant or dishonest....

......and to what conclusion?

Originally posted by vishvahetu
......and to what conclusion?

The citizens of Athens were angry and frightened for the influence Socrates had on young people by questioning them and stimulating them to think for themselves. So the city tried en sentenced him to death by poison. He drunk the cup surrounded by his students and died in peace.

Originally posted by souverein
The citizens of Athens were angry and frightened for the influence Socrates had on young people by questioning them and stimulating them to think for themselves. So the city tried en sentenced him to death by poison. He drunk the cup surrounded by his students and died in peace.

Very good, a man of conviction.

Yes think for yourself.... I do champion that, and when you are thinking for yourself and you are presented with, your own speculations, or substitute religion, or speculative science, or atheism.........do you toss a coin and pick one to embrace, or do you seriously think for yourself and study them all, so as to come to an informed decision.

Before looking at them all, you firstly have to ask yourself what are you looking for.

Meaning, truth, direction, knowledge.....what?

Theres 1000,s of religions on the planet and also war, poverty, crime, corruption depression and unhappiness.....so whats going on with all theses religions.

When you do think for yourself, you must ask what is life, what is death, what is religion, what is God....why do I suffer? why do I grow old and die, and when you seek knowledge to these inquiries then Vedanta Sutra by Srila Vyasadeva is there to instruct.

Because who in this world has never taken instruction, for the gaining of knowledge.